Marco Bezzecchi felt a mistake immediately after he passed Francesco Bagnaia for second place cost him any chance of challenging Jorge Martin for victory in the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano.
The VR46 Ducati rider ran wide the first time he attempted an overtake on Bagnaia while Martin was still within striking distance.
However, by the time Bezzecchi passed Bagnaia again and made the move stick, Martin had opened a slight advantage which the Italian was unable to recover.
Bezzecchi, though – who also claimed the runner-up spot in the Sprint race – said he was happy to return to the podium again in front of the Italian fans at the Marco Simoncelli Circuit.
“I’m really happy, I gave my all from the beginning until the end,” said Bezzecchi, who battled through the pain barrier with an injured left hand which he suffered in a first-corner pile-up at Catalunya.
“The first time I passed Pecco, unfortunately I made a mistake immediately because if not, maybe I could try a move on Jorge.
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“But with the wind, it was different from yesterday and without the reference of Pecco I got confused and braked just a little bit too late.
“Anyway, this is what I got so I have to be happy.”
Bezzecchi said he began to struggle with the pain from his injured hand during the final eight or nine laps and opted to sit out Monday’s official test at Misano to focus on his recovery.
“When I passed Pecco, fortunately with fresh air my front tyre breathed a little bit and I was able to make a good rhythm even if the pain was coming more and more,” he said.
“It was really tough to be honest but I gave all my heart to resist the pain and try to make a good race for the team and for my fans.
“Fortunately, I did it and it was fantastic to see all the fans under the podium. I wanted to give them a victory but this was the maximum I could do – Jorge was amazing and unfortunately I spent too much time behind, and the front pressure was up. It was difficult for me to do better than this,” Bezzecchi added.
“The hand was painful but with the adrenaline and everything I tried to not think about it, but the last part – after the overtake on Pecco – when I was alone and I was focused on my riding, I started to feel the pain.
“But it was eight or nine laps and I couldn’t give up, I gave my all and I’m really happy.”
The 24-year-old said he ‘suffered’ more than he anticipated with the injury and highlighted the importance of being 100 percent fit ahead of a busy run of flyaway rounds over the next few months.
“I [did] not test because I will try to recover the best with my hand because to be honest, for the injury that I have I did not expect to suffer so much,” he said.
The #72 Ducati pilot added, “I will rest and try to recover for India because we are going into a part of the championship that is really demanding physically, so I think I will be here to check everyone and study the data from the race, but I will not ride.”
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